Kiev, Ukraine

Since Americans recently did not require visas to visit Ukraine, I decided to visit another former Soviet republic. As it turns out often, the journey itself is more interesting than the destination.

I decided to take at 17.5-hour train ride from Chisinau to Kiev because of two reasons. First, there are several bus stations in Chisinau, making it confusing to know which one to depart from. Second, this train did not pass through Transdniester, the “independent” part of Moldova in the east. I had heard that the border guards there harass travelers and thus was keen to bypass that area.

On the train (which was 45 minutes late), we waited 3 hours at the border. One reason explaining the slowness of Ukrainian trains are the long (up to 20 minutes) pauses whenever it arrives at a station. However, that did not matter too much as even the cheapest class, platzkarnty had fold-down beds, complete with pillows, sheets and blankets.

One intriguing aspect of Ukrainian life that I observed several times on the train are the sellers who get on the train and sell all types of goods. Examples include food, magazines and sweets. Furthermore, the Moldovan woman who slept on the bed next to mine offered me an egg and some chicken. Do they share food only in developing countries? I don’t think this would have occurred in the West.

Kiev itself is full of Orthodox churches and monasteries in various colors and shades. Examples include St Sofia Cathedral, St Michael’s Monastery and St Andrew’s Church. The city also has few English speakers and all signs are in Cyrillic, making this one of my toughest destinations.

One interesting part of the city is the metro, with its long escalator to reach the platforms and its Soviet-style décor.

Chisinau, Moldova

Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, a former Soviet republic in the southeastern corner of Europe. I was curious as to how life is in this lesser known part of Europe.

My first experience with Chisinau was similar to that in Bucharest--stray dogs. In fact, I almost did not enter CouchSurfer Serghei’s apartment due to several barking dogs in the driveway.

Chisinau contradicts the image of Moldova. Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, but one would never guess so when strolling through the center of Chisinau. There, every street is lined with trees. The main strip, Blvd. Stefan de Mare, is lined with grand neoclassical and Soviet-style buildings, including Government House, Parliament House, Presidential Palace, Opera & Ballet Theatre and its Arc de Triomphe. Luxury cars, such as Mercedes and BMW, are all over the city.

I visited Chisinau on National Language Day, a public holiday to celebrate the Romanian language. A huge stage with performances was set up in front of Government House, across from the Arc de Triomphe and Cathedral Park. Vendors nearby were selling popcorn, crepes, doner kebab and pastries. There were so many people that I felt the entire country was there!

Brasov, Romania

Brasov is a city in the region of Transylvania, which is renowned for Dracula. I was not visiting this place to find vampires. Instead, I came to experience the mountain scenery and historical architecture.

Brasov, like the whole region of Transylvania, has a German feel to it. That is because the Habsburgs used to rule the region. Thus, the town abounds with red-roof buildings, central courtyards and reminded me of Central Europe.

I had two highlights while in Brasov. The first was walking down Strada Sforii, the narrowest street in Eastern Europe. My second highlight was hiking up Tampa Hill, with its Hollywood-like “Brasov” sign on top. The summit of Tampa provided us with sweeping views of the mountains and both the old and new areas of Brasov. I will especially remember the old city walls that surrounds the old town.

I took an overnight bus to Chisinau, Moldova that night. I was the only person neither from Romania nor from Moldova. The interesting aspect about this trip is that it took forever for the Romanian authorities to allow the Moldovans to leave Romania, which I found ironic. The bus surprisingly arrived 20 minutes early, at 4:40am. Given the fact that it was still dark when I arrived, I decided to wait until dawn to walk to my host’s apartment. Waiting 1.5 hours in the chilly night was worth it, as barely anyone speaks English in Chisinau and there are sometimes more stray dogs that there are people!